Nobody other than Blackhawk Christian had won a state title for the area since 2015. In fact, since 2010, the city of Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana has a whole had just four boys basketball state titles: one in Class 4A, two in Class 2A and one in Class 1A.
With Canterbury’s win Saturday over Bethesda Christian, the Canterbury Cavaliers have brought the area its second ever 1A title and in ways, it feels overlooked.
Why is that?
The focus so often is on Class 4A. We had a powerful group in Wayne in the area, several other really good teams including North Side. The Class 2A big Sectional won by perennial state contender Blackhawk Christian had all of our interest too. Yet quietly, Canterbury was putting the pieces together to make a run in Class 1A that culminated with Saturday’s 48-41 win. It should be an awakening to just what Class 1A can provide in terms of power and excitement and it shows what Canterbury can build on for coming seasons.
That build may be as exciting as the title itself because Canterbury has a builder in coach Deric Adams.
The Cavs have had good coaches in the past and have won some games and titles, in part, because of it. But Adams has quietly been putting together a really good program that has the chance, in years, to become a 1A juggernaut at least in the north half of the state and that is something that should be treated with the same level of excitement as Blackhawk Christian’s ascension in the Class before their success factor bump up.
Canterbury is a soccer school. On the pitch, there are 10 state titles of the school’s now 15. Girls basketball has the other five. And now the boys have staked their claim.
Senior John Parent scored a game-high 22 points with 10 rebounds, while senior Devon Lewis had 12 points to secure the Cavaliers’ first state title in their first state trip.
The balance of those two alone shows the strength that Canterbury is built on. In fact, the Cavaliers didn’t just gain, they lost to transfers since last season as well.
The private versus public debate will always happen with high school basketball and this Canterbury team will be no exception to that rule. But it also a steady reminder of something a coach in Fort Wayne once told me in no specific terms: there is more than one way to skin a cat. Sometimes programs grow from within and Lewis has been a stellar representation of that. His own role has changed, the cast around him has changed, but Lewis has stayed the course and trusted in the coaches he has had, including the vision that Adams brought to the program.
“It’s really a blessing. I’ve been here for four years, gone through a lot of adversity and to make it all the way here by senior year is a great experience just to come here and prove everybody wrong. It’s a great feeling,” Lewis said.
Ashton Dressler, another senior, has been right there too and has seen his role alter in even more significant ways over the seasons.
Parent, along with Tucker Day, Colin Burda and Jackson Davis all moved into the school this season and because of it, were not eligible to play until January 1.
It made this particular Canterbury team more seasoned with all four having previous varsity experience but also with their inability to play until 2024, it forced other players to step into roles and get better and more prepared, only to see those opportunities take a hit once the senior foursome was in the lineup. As important as the heavy senior lineup has been in 2024, the workload that Reed Hayes and Deacon Wardlow had to put in early also made this team stronger, their bench deeper and their mindset sharper.
That sharpness was crucial for Canterbury in a game that saw 10 lead changes and Bethesda Christian refusing to go away even when the Cavaliers’ offense flexed. Instead, Canterbury’s defense was patient and took some lumps but always fired back when called up. A pair of blocks each from Parent and Lewis and two steals from Burda were almost as crucial as anything Canterbury did on offense.
“I think it was just the idea of getting back to our basics. Defense has been where we start everything. All season, we said from day one, and it’s very cliché, but defense travels, and we’re going to have nights when we can’t throw it in the ocean from the beach, so let’s make sure we’re defending,” Adams said.
Bethesda Christian had nine turnovers in the game.
And while the Cavaliers will lose seven of the eight players who played on Saturday to graduation this spring, but will also return Alden Greider, who was injured during warmups. It will make things harder for them to push back to an above .500 record and to continue to be a championship contender. But it is also not impossible and today we have to look on the side of how this could really propel Canterbury to be a constant contender. The area is open in Class 1A, much in the same way it was when Blackhawk Christian took advantage and built their program to state championship level, again both through home grown and transplanted talent.
Doing that isn’t easy. For every success like the Braves or Cavaliers, there have been plenty of area teams both public and private that have had a mix of originals and newcomers to high level expectations and fell short. Canterbury, while quiet on the season compared to other programs, had lofty expectations both internal and external and they shined. If nothing else, that is a sign of a program and a culture on the rise.
And that is something that carries big weight into the future and something that Adams and his staff have to be very excited on growing on when the celebrations end and its time to get back to work on the future.
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